in washington, both procedural and political as the white house and congress tried to find a way to avert those automatic tax and spending measures that kick in midnight tonight. the bottom line at this hour, we are headed over the proverbial fiscal cliff. we say that because the senate hasn't voted on any kind of deal. you see it there live. and the house has said even if there is a deal, they're not going to bring any bill to a vote on this new year's eve. so the big question tonight, what impact will it have on every american? we have all of it covered, and we begin with nbc's kelly o'donnell for the latest from capitol hill. kelly? >> reporter: good evening, kate. well, congress is out of time, and frustrations are really running over. and while democrats and republicans say they want to find a solution and they are working toward that, they don't have a deal yet, and that means for now there is nothing to vote on before tonight's deadline. with your money on the line, tonight washington can only claim progress. but not success. >> it appears that an agreement to prevent this new year's tax